grace period

noun

Definition of grace period

: a period of time beyond a due date during which a financial obligation may be met without penalty or cancellation

Examples of grace period in a Sentence

The terms of the loan allow for a ten-day grace period.

Recent Examples on the Web

Houston's Sanchez Energy is taking another step towards Chapter 11 bankruptcy after entering into a 30-day grace period on a critical debt payment. — Sergio Chapa, Houston Chronicle, "Houston's Sanchez Energy takes another step towards bankruptcy," 15 July 2019 Both Thailand and South Korea have seized the opportunity during this ideal population structure grace period. — Kelsey Nowakowski, National Geographic, "There are now more people over age 65 than under five—what that means," 11 July 2019 Britain will also keep up its payments into the EU budget during the grace period, which businesses are desperate to pin down as soon as possible. — Ian Wishart, Bloomberg.com, "EU Is Open to Brexit Transition Lasting Beyond 2020, Sources Say," 26 Jan. 2018 The law will include a grace period through the end of the year, with the police giving warnings while the state conducts an education campaign. — Susannah Bryan, sun-sentinel.com, "Cops will be doing DUI checkpoints all over Broward on July Fourth, so don’t even think about it," 30 June 2019 UConn faces a $10 million exit fee that could increase to $12 million if the school leaves before the 27-month grace period listed in the AAC bylaws. — Matt Murschel, orlandosentinel.com, "UConn officially moves to Big East, leaves AAC and UCF discussing the future," 27 June 2019 Amherst dispatches inspectors to assess each home’s condition during the grace period. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, "Meet the A.I. Landlord That’s Building a Single-Family-Home Empire," 21 June 2019 If not, they’re canceled and medical costs incurred in the second and third months of the grace period fall on the consumer. — Kaiser Health News, oregonlive.com, "Can companies just cancel your health insurance without warning?," 8 June 2019 Brannen’s team will play an eye-pleasing style that should translate into a reasonable grace period. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: John Brannen went through the transfer portal. Here's what the UC Bearcats coach did.," 8 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grace period.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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grace with one's presence

gracias

Gracilaria

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Last Updated

21 Jul 2019

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The first known use of grace period was in 1907

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More Definitions for grace period

grace period

noun

Financial Definition of grace period

What It Is

A grace period is a period of time, usually about 10 days, during which a past due amount can be paid with little or no penalty.

How It Works

Let's assume your credit card payment is due on December 15. You forget to make the payment. On December 20, you remember. By then, though, it's too late. Your bill is past due.

However, if your account has a grace period, you can make the payment and the creditor might not assess a late fee or other penalty.

Why It Matters

Past-due bills often incur late fees, higher interest rates, penalties and other charges. Worst of all, the creditor might report the late payment to the credit reporting agencies, leaving a black mark on your credit rating (and even lowering your credit rating). In some cases, a bill get so past due (say, 90 or 180 days), that the creditor considers the account in default and may charge off the balance. A grace period gives customers a chance to catch up quickly before it's too late. After that point, the lender might assign or sell the account to a collection agency, which will try to collect the balance.

Source: Investing Answers

grace period

noun

English Language Learners Definition of grace period

: an amount of extra time that someone is given to pay a bill, finish a project, etc.

See the full definition for grace period in the English Language Learners Dictionary

grace period

noun

grace pe·ri·od

Legal Definition of grace period

: a period of time beyond a scheduled date during which a required action (as payment of an obligation) may be taken without incurring the ordinarily resulting adverse consequences (as penalty or cancellation): as

a : a period of 30 days or one month during which premiums on insurance policies may be paid without penalty

b : a period of ten days during which certain security interests (as those in fixtures) must be perfected in order to have priority over conflicting security interests under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code

— called also days of grace